The standard procedure for cleaning a carpet with a commercial cleaning apparatus is first to unroll a pair of hoses: a vacuum hose and a high pressure liquid hose. Both of these hoses, transported earlier to the job site, are generally rolled on reels mounted inside of a van. As they are being unrolled, the hoses are carried through the door of the apartment or house to its most distant part. Sometimes this distance exceeds 300 feet.
The technician then goes back to the van to gather a pre-spray attachment, a standard wand and a rake and takes these tools into the residence. Working backwards towards the entrance, the technician, using the pre-spray attachment, applies a stain-removing chemical fluid to the carpet. Not until he has disconnected the pre-spray attachment from the wand and re-positioned both of the hoses so that they once again reach the most distant part of the dwelling, does he finally connect the high pressure hose, which itself is connected to a hot water supply in the van, and the suction hose to the wand. Only then is he ready to steam clean the carpet.
During the course of steam cleaning, a second application of the stain-removing chemical fluid is often required. The technician then disconnects the high pressure hose and reconnects the pre-spray attachment so that he can re-spray the stubborn stain. Frequently, the pre-spray attachment is left in another room of the residence so time must be spent to retrieve it.
Once cleaning is complete, the wand, the pre-spray attachment, and the hoses are taken back to the van; and the truck mounted engine is turned off.
The final step in the standard cleaning procedure is to use the rake to give the carpet a fluffed and patterned look.